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No. 11 Creighton rediscovers shooting stroke to defeat Georgetown

Creighton v Villanova

PHILADELPHIA, PA - FEBRUARY 01: Mitch Ballock #24 of the Creighton Bluejays reacts against the Villanova Wildcats in the second half at the Wells Fargo Center on February 1, 2020 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Creighton Bluejays defeated the Villanova Wildcats 76-61. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)

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OMAHA, Neb. — Mitch Ballock made a season-high six 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, and No. 11 Creighton rode one of its best shooting games of the season to a 91-76 win over Georgetown on Wednesday night.

The Bluejays (23-7, 12-5 Big East) hit a season-high 17 3s on 36 attempts after making only 4 of 27 in a 20-point loss at St. John’s on Sunday.

Marcus Zegarowski had 20 points and eight assists, Ty-Shon Alexander had 18 points and Denzel Mahoney added 14.

Georgetown (15-15, 5-12) lost its fifth straight. The Hoyas were without their top two scorers. Omer Yurtseven was out a third straight game with an ankle injury. Mac McClung missed his fourth in a row with a foot injury.
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Jahvon Blair led the Hoyas with 22 points, Jamorko Pickett had 17, and freshman Qudus Wahab had his first double-double with season highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds.

Ballock, all but invisible in a loss at Georgetown in January, hit a pair of 3s to make it 60-39 and another after the Hoyas scored eight straight points to get within 62-49. That started a 15-6 spurt that finished off the Hoyas.

Creighton overcame Georgetown’s size advantage and foul trouble with 9-for-19 3-point shooting in the first half.

Christian Bishop and Kelvin Jones, the Bluejays’ biggest players, picked up two quick fouls and were on the bench in the middle of the first half. That left the 6-foot-5 Mahoney to defend the 6-11 Wahab.

Jones spelled Mahoney late in the half and provided a spark with a layup and dunk during an 11-2 spurt, and Alexander and Zegarowski made 3s to help Creighton lead 48-33 at half.

BIG PICTURE

Georgetown: The Hoyas are hurting without Yurtseven and McClung, who combine to average 30 points per game. Those two played huge roles in the 83-80 win over Creighton on Jan. 15. Yurtseven had 20 points and 13 rebounds and McClung scored 19 points.

Creighton: The Bluejays beat all nine Big East opponents in the same season for the second time since joining the league in 2013-14. They’ve won five straight over the Hoyas in Omaha.

UP NEXT

Georgetown closes the regular season at home Saturday against No. 14 Villanova. The Hoyas lost 80-66 at Nova on Feb. 11.

Creighton hosts No. 8 Seton Hall on Sunday. The Bluejays beat the Pirates 87-82 on Feb. 12.